


What Hermione Needs is a Friend

by What_Happens_To_The_Heart



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Developing Friendships, Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, Gen, Good Slytherins, Hermione Granger-centric, Hermione really needs more friends, because let's face it the boys aren't that nice to her sometimes, so I made her a friend, sorry about the unoriginal title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23410858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/What_Happens_To_The_Heart/pseuds/What_Happens_To_The_Heart
Summary: When your best friends are best friends, and seem to have a lot more in common with each other than with you, it can be hard not to feel left out. Sometimes you need a new friend.
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger & Original Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	What Hermione Needs is a Friend

**Author's Note:**

> The last time I re-read GoF I was struck, not for the first time, by that Harry and Ron really aren't very good friends to Hermione a lot of the time and that she really could do with more friends, nerdy ones who care about what she cares about. So I made her one.  
> This little fix-it fic was a bit of a quick job that I did for my Patreon a couple of years ago.

Hermione felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes as she turned away from the bright outdoors and headed back into the castle. Behind her, Ron and Harry were heading down the slope toward the quidditch pitch with brooms in hand, laughing and chatting loudly as they went. Though there wouldn’t be a quidditch cup this year on account of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, that wasn’t stopping the boys from playing friendly matches with the twins and their other friends. Their other friends, but not her...  
It wasn’t even that she wanted to play quidditch. She was no good at it, and honestly the whole broom thing just didn’t feel safe. But sometimes, just sometimes, it would be nice if they at least asked her if she wanted to play. Not every time, not even most of the time but just... sometimes.   
She turned down a hallway, heading vaguely in the direction of the library. She didn’t actually have any homework - they hadn’t been assigned much yet and she’d finished what little they had last night without a problem. She would find a book to disappear into for the day, and then she wouldn’t have to think about the boys or the house-elf situation or the how much the tournament was likely to disrupt this school year.   
If she was being honest with herself, it wasn’t just quidditch that was the problem. Harry and Ron were her best friends, but sometimes she didn’t feel like she was theirs. They never really asked her to play wizarding chess either, or to do much of anything except help them with homework and with whatever magical crisis they found themselves in. They never really listened to her when she was excited or upset, or else they only listened for long enough to roll their eyes and make her feel like she was the only person in the world who cared about what she cared about.  
Before she could sink deeper into her brooding, a voice floated out into the hallway from a door left ajar. No, several voices, talking and laughing. Hermione furrowed her brow. Why would there be a class on a Saturday? Not to mention, she was pretty sure the classrooms in this corridor weren’t actually in use at the moment. Suddenly curious, she drew closer to the room. Light poured from the crack in the door, and she hesitated for a moment before peering inside the half-foot opening.   
The classroom was well-it, and there were at least a dozen students inside. She couldn’t see a teacher, which was a bit odd, but she recognized practically everyone else - Hogwarts wasn’t that big, after all. She couldn’t say she knew any of them well but... well, there weren’t that many people that she did know well. She never had in muggle school either. She spotted Padma Patil sitting at a desk, studying a board of wizarding chess with a thoughtful look on her face. Across for her sat a Hufflepuff student, bouncing her leg as she waited for Padma to make a move. Further in the back Demelza Robins, a younger Gryffindor student, was leaning over a textbook, a seventh year Ravenclaw sitting next to her and indicating to something on the page. All houses and, as far as she could see, all years mixed together in the room, some talking, some playing games, others... studying? It looked... cozy, somehow. The atmosphere was one of warmth and relaxed excitement, the air filled with laughter and chatter.   
Hermione felt a sudden pinch of longing behind her breastbone. She didn’t even know what they were doing in there, yet she wanted to join them. Of course, she wasn’t invited... Not much of a surprise, there. Sighing, she began moving away from the door before someone caught her peeking.   
“Granger! Hey, Granger!”  
The voice that called out didn’t sound angry at all, but Hermione still found herself stiffening. Turning back, she saw a tall sixth year Hufflepuff with a friendly smile one her face, standing in the door which was now slightly more open.   
“You’re Granger, right?”  
"Yes, sorry, I uh... I didn’t know anyone was in there. I didn’t mean to...." she trailed off, not wanting to suggest that she’d been snooping if the other girl didn’t already think so.  
"Oh, it’s no problem!" She waved her hand dismissively. “Do you want to come inside?”  
"Come inside?" Hermione repeated.  
"Yeah." She opened the door further, stepping aside a little to give her room to enter.   
“Uh... sure, yes. Thank you.” She smiled, even though she still didn’t know what was going.  
"Welcome to the Everything Club," the other girl said with a grin, making a sweeping movement with her arm to indicate the entire room.  
"The Everything Club?" Hermione echoed, looking around. There were a few more people in here than she’d initially been able to see. Most of them were girls, as far as she knew anyway, but there were a few boys as well.  
"Yup. It started out as a book club like two decades ago, and then it turned into the Books & Games club, and then the Books, Games & Essay Writing Club and then someone started an unofficial mentoring program for the first year members, and someone else started a monthly nail art hangout, and then a zine and... The name got too long so now we just call it the Everything Club."  
"Oh. That... makes sense, I suppose."  
The girl nodded. “This room isn’t used for classes anymore so Dumbledore lets us use it as much as we want. Club’s open every day in the day and every evening. There’s a bit of a schedule, chess tournament on Thursdays, swap meet every third Monday, but mostly it’s just... you come here and you do whatever you feel like doing! During class hours you might get the room to yourself if you’ve got an empty period, but other than that there’s nearly always someone here. Breaks, weekends, evenings. It’s real neat.” She shook her head a bit. “Sorry, I’m babbling. I’m Janet, by the way. Janet Lane.”   
“Right,” She recognized the name now that she heard it. One of the top Astrology students, as far as she could recall. “Hermione Granger,” she said, even though the other girl obviously already knew her name. They shook hands, and then Janet went on. “Anyhow, feel free to come in and look around. We don’t have a very official application process or anything, but everyone’s welcome to join so long as they’re friendly. I’ve been going here since I was a third year and it’s so nice to have a place to go to and just... do whatever!” She shrugged cheerfully.  
Hermione hesitated a moment, and just as she was about to ask a follow-up question, a green-haired Ravenclaw girl sitting by a desk on the opposite wall called out: “Janet! Get back here or I’m declaring a victory by walk-over!” On the desk in front of her was what looked like a regular deck of cards, except that they glowed faintly and were hovering in the air on their own.   
“Fine, I’m coming, I’m coming,” Janet called back, and grinned down at Hermione “Sorry, honor calls...”   
She moved off toward her friend and Hermione was left standing alone by the door, unsure if she wanted to stay or leave. Though a few people had looked up when she came in, no-one was really paying her attention now. On the other hand, no-one seemed bothered by her presence either. She glanced out through the door into the hallway, then shrugged and began slowly walking around the room, taking in what she saw. It was obvious that the room had been used by the club for quite a while. Most of the desks were still there, but arranged to facilitate games and the like, and some had been removed to make room for a sofa in the back, where a couple of girls were speaking in hushed tones while a thin Slytherin boy seemed to be dozing off while trying to read. The walls were covered in posters and pieces of parchment, including a big schedule that advertised, among other things, a recurring Tuesday evening tea party and a queer discussion group on Sunday afternoons. Next to it was the schedule for the current book club book, detailing which chapter to read when. Hermione stopped to give it a closer look, and almost teared up a little when she read the title listed. They were reading Hogwarts, a History? Sure, there were only four names listed in the participant section, but that was still four more than Ron and Harry claimed had read the book.   
She couldn’t help but smile and look around the room with renewed interest, exhilaration rising in her chest like bubbles in a fizzy drink. There was a suggestion box on a side table, and a poster announcing the next club meeting on the following Wednesday. The agenda listed, among other things, the next book club book and the date for a club clothes-swapping day on it. Two mussy-haired second years sat in a corner, swapping chocolate frog collectible cards. In the far end of the room stood a shelf full of games. Hermione moved closer to it, and was surprised to see a lot of muggle classics from her childhood, ones that didn’t seem widely played in the wizarding community. As she inspected the shelf, she became aware of someone standing beside her. Looking to the side, she saw a Slytherin student, a fifth year, or so she thought. S- something... Sarah? Susie? No...  
"Looking for a game?" the girl asked.  
"Uh, yeah... maybe," she replied. She reached for a pretty, wooden box, taking it off the shelf. Unlatching it, she showed Hermione the insides - a backgammon set.   
“Wanna play?” she asked.  
This time, Hermione didn’t hesitate. She just smiled. “Sure!”  
They moved over to an empty desk and pulled up an extra chair before setting up the game.  
"Would you like to start?" Hermione offered.  
"Let’s roll for it," the other girl said. “I’m Sadie, by the way.”  
Sadie rolled a two, Hermione a five and as such she got first turn, picking whites and rolling the first roll of the game. She hadn’t played backgammon in a while, but she still remembered how to do it and she’d always found it fun. It was strange how many of the things that were part of her world before she got her letter to Hogwarts had mostly disappeared since then, and it felt nice to have this one thing back just for an afternoon.   
They played in relative silence for the first few turns, just making the odd comment on the game. Hermione felt the tickling need to talk, but wasn’t quite sure what to say. Finally, she went with the first, most obvious thing that came to her.   
“Have you been in the Everything Club long?”  
Sadie shrugged. “On and off since I was in year two,” she replied, and rolled the dice. Hermione waited while she moved her checkers, wondering if she was going to say anything else. She didn’t, and Hermione wasn’t sure if she should keep trying to make conversation or not.   
“Are... are you in the book club?”  
"Hm?" Sadie looked up, as if she hadn’t quite heard her, but then shook her head. “No, not right now. I’ve already read it so...” she shrugged.  
"Yeah?"  
"Mm, read it in my first year."  
"So did I!" Hermione exclaimed, much louder than she’d planned. She felt her cheeks heat up, but Sadie just smiled at her, a reserved but pleasant smile that was little more than a twitch in the corners of her mouth, but made her eyes twinkle.   
“It’s a shame the stuff it leaves out, though,” Sadie went on as they kept playing.  
"Leaves out?" Hermione asked, searching her memories for what she might mean. What did she know about Hogwarts that wasn’t in the book. Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, the house-elves. They never even mention them in the book.” She paused for a moment, processing. Sadie was giving her a funny look, and she scrambled to explain. “I haven’t read it since before the summer and... to be honest, I only just found out that Hogwarts even has house-elves. I should’ve known years ago, but... I just never thought of how all the food gets made and everything gets cleaned and I hadn’t put together how much the book leaves out until just now.” She looked away, feeling silly for having been ignorant about it for so long. Even though she was muggle-born, she should’ve considered the situation more closely, particularly after the whole Dobby incident.   
“Yeah... I felt the same way when I realized that was how it worked. We never had a house-elf at home, but I had friends that did. I remember the exactly moment when I realized that they actually had no choice. I was eight. I had nightmares about it.” She paused a moment. “But... I was raised with magic and all of that... What I mean is, it’s not odd or bad that you’re still learning things about wizarding culture. And the bad stuff takes longer to learn because people like to pretend like it doesn’t exist.”  
Hermione looked up from the board at Sadie then, and was met with a slight smile which she returned. It felt good to hear that, that not realizing wasn’t a moral failing on her part, though strange to hear such supportive words from a Slytherin who obviously knew she was muggle-born. Logically she knew there must be people in Slytherin who didn’t share the sentiments of Malfoy and his ilk, but they tended to keep out of the way for the most part. She shook her head slightly, a mix of feelings wrestling for superiority.   
“I really liked that book. I can’t believe it doesn’t even mention it.”  
"Outrageous, right?" Sadie agreed. “More like Hogwarts: parts of a history.”  
"Hogwarts: a selective history," Hermione offered.  
"Hogwarts: the history we wanted people to know."  
"Hogwarts: a highly biased and selective history that glosses over the nastier aspects of the school."  
Sadie chuckled. “Hogwarts: a revisionist history.”  
"All right, you win for best new title," Hermione said with a laugh. “But... I think I will win this game.”  
"Oh yeah? We’ll see..." Sadie said, reaching for the dice.  
Hermione smiled. Somehow, this was just what she needed.


End file.
